Team Terminator and Groove Six Studios have announced the release of version 0.49 of True Combat: Elite, bringing the Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory mod to Mac OS X. TC:E is a realistic first person shooter which takes place in a modern urban warfare setting and emphasizes team play.

IMG has posted a review of Virtual Villagers, the casual game by Big Fish Games. Here's a clip from the review:

Virtual Villagers is a sim game where one guides a small group of castaways through the founding and development of their village. It can handle many, many different unique villagers and has sixteen different puzzles. The player assigns preferred jobs to each villager and they accumulate skills based on what tasks they perform.

Funkitron and Macgamestore.com are proud to announce the release of Funkitron's first Mac game release, Poker Superstars II. Since its release on the PC in March 2006, Poker Superstars II has become the best selling downloadable poker game on the PC.

Poker Superstars for the PC was one of the top download games of 2005, and in 2006, Funkitron is raising the stakes. POKER SUPERSTARS II now has 15 top notch players such as Johnny Chan, Barry Greenstein, Carlos Mortensen and Cyndy Violette. It provides even more challenge thanks to a ‘first of its kind’ poker AI that actually learned the game by playing millions of simulated tournaments, and now, it is ready for you. Finally, it packs in more fun, with music and graphics right from the TV show, and the ability to import your own photo right into the game, so you can become the Poker Superstar you know you are.

"This game really captures the excitement and challenge of the Poker Superstars II tournament," said Henry Orenstein. "The presentation, interface and AI are all top notch. Funkitron is a great partner and has done another amazing job with Poker Superstars II."

“We wanted to build upon the success of the first Poker Superstars and add in the features the fans were asking for,” said Dave Walls, president of Funkitron, Inc. “Beginners will love the great interface and tips to get them going, while experts will appreciate the challenge provided by the new state of the art poker AI.”

Poker Superstars II features game tips, advanced poker AI computer opponents, game speed-up options for quick play designed for practice, three game modes (Round – one TV show, Season – a tournament, or Cash Game – limit game). The unique player card system tracks a player’s best winnings, winning hands, flops seen and pots won. Poker Superstars II is now available exclusively for $19.95 at Macgamestore.com. A free demo version of the game is available at the web page.Macgamestore: Poker Superstars II

October brings with it Blizzard Entertainment's latest in-game event for World of Warcraft. The Harvest Festival begins today and continues through October 9th, offering players the chance to earn special rewards and view the spirits of fallen heroes.

Celebrated by both the Horde and the Alliance, the Harvest Festival is a time to commemorate those who have sacrificed their lives to help their allies. The Alliance honors the memory of all the fallen, but most especially Uther Lightbringer. The Horde also remembers those who have fallen, with special emphasis on the memory of Grom Hellscream.

The latest bit of game legistlation news currently making the rounds concerns a proposal made concerning requirements that must be met by the ESRB in order to properly rate a game. Put forth by Senator Sam Brownback, who has championed similar legislation in the past, the new bill proposes that ESRB members must play through games in their entirety before offering a rating.

A quote from GamePolitics offers the follwing:

"The current video game ratings system needs improvement," Brownback said, "because reviewers do not see the full content of games and don’t even play the games they are supposed to rate. For video game ratings to be meaningful and worthy of a parent’s trust, the game ratings must be more objective and accurate."

Interestingly enough, the gamer community seems to be split on this particular issue. Some gamers support the bill, citing the fact that the ESRB is currently not required to even play games to rate them. Other gamers, however, point out the unrealistic wording of the bill, and cite examples such as MMOs, games without endings, and games with downloadable content as not fitting cleanly into such a scenario.

According to the article at GamePolitics, the bill also seeks to evaluate current systems involving movies and TV as well as games.

Apple Games recently posted a new feature focusing on Ambrosia Software's latest game, Redline. The racing title offers single and multiplayer competition using a variety of vehicles on six tracks. The feature reviews the gameplay and provides a detailed examination of each track.

Welcome to Redline, where you can live out your racing fantasies as you sit behind the wheel of some of the most powerful — and not-so-powerful — vehicles in the world. Eighteen of them — in addition to a secret car that’s a well-known variant of one of the others — wait to be unlocked by completing 12 challenges so realistic that the game’s manual refers to a website called The Physics of Racing, if you care to learn more about the advanced math and science involved. You’ll need to master all of them if you want to be any good at racing in Simulation Mode.

Luckily, those of you who’d rather not deal with the effects of each vehicle’s particular drivetrain setup, suspension, mass distribution, and other specifications can simply choose to race in Arcade Mode, where all of the cars handle the same. For a real thrill, try Turbo Arcade Mode, where physics get tossed completely out the window, along with realistic top speeds. Where else can you take curves at over 100 miles per hour?

D2X-XL, an enhanced version of the D2X OpenGL modification of the classic shooter Descent 2, has been updated to version 1.86. The update introduces a new dynamic lighting method, enhanced Monsterball game mode, and a few bug fixes.

Macgamestore.com now offers Toybox Games' Ancient Tripeaks II as a digital download. Featuring 25 unique levels, unlockable cards, and an in-depth tutorial system, AT 2 improves on the card game formula which made the original a success.

Ancient Tripeaks 2 takes you back to the days of mystical Gods and the greatest Heroes of Ancient Greece. The "Card Game of the Year" makes its long awaited return with not only 3 times as many levels, stunning visuals, and ambient audio but takes you away from your everyday worries. Get lost in the mythical land of Greece as you challenge yourself to unlock and construct the greatest heroes of its past. With 8 unlockable statues and cards, along with its addictive gameplay, Ancient Tripeaks 2 is a must have for any card or casual game player.